Poetry collection by Joseph Ross. Epigraphs Authorized by the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc.

“Raising King is a poetic biography of a movement. The poems of Joseph Ross are photographs documenting history. They remind us to look again and not look away. The words of King and Ross creates a majestic duet. This book demands the readers become a chorus. Let it lift every voice and sing. We are a nation in need of song. Ross has given us words that capture the thunder and sounds of protest. Raising King prepares us for the storm that will hopefully baptize us into beauty.”

--E.Ethelbert Miller, poet and literary activist, host of On The Margin, WPFW 89.3 FM

“Raising King is a groundbreaking poetry collection that helps to rescue the radically compassionate legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joseph Ross brilliantly reminds us that King’s power derived from the way in which he forced American and global citizens to confront uncomfortable truths about race, poverty, citizenship, and war. A must read.”

--Peniel Joseph, author of The Sword and the Shield: Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

“In his beautiful collection of poems evoking the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, Joseph Ross offers his readers hope and inspiration for our own difficult times. These poems call us to revive our courage, moral convictions, and belief in the ultimate redemption of humanity.”

--Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College

Joseph Ross is the author of three books of poetry: Ache (2017), Gospel of Dust (2013) and Meeting Bone Man (2012). His poems appear in many places including The Los Angeles Times, Poet Lore, Xavier Review, The Southern Quarterly and Drumvoices Revue. He has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations and won the 2012 Pratt Library / Little Patuxent Review Poetry Prize. He recently served as the 23rd Poet-in-Residence for the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society in Howard County, Maryland. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. and writes regularly at www.JosephRoss.net.